Are tariffs good for American Agriculture? It is a very important question in the days before the election. Hear a large-scale, no-till, commodity soy bean farmer, describe his experience and knowledge about the impact of tariffs on the nation’s farmers. A special broadcast provided by Rodger Wasson from his show Farm to Table Talk.

Animal right activists placed the terribly written anti CAFO Measure J on the November 2024 Sonoma County ballot. It threatens the future of this small and mid-scale farming community and others like it across the nation. Professional Ducati motorcycle racer, organic dairy woman and Covergirl model Shelina Moreda is co leading a campaign to stop this misdirected measure while still keeping the dialogue open with her opponents.

Cole Mannix’s family has ranched in the Black Foot Valley of Montana since 1882. Even with thousands of acres and hundreds of cattle, the return on investment is bleak. Learn how his family and four other ranches have come together to create the Old Salt Co-op and beef brand with two restaurants, online sales and an annual ranch event all in order to ensure these agrarian families thrive rather than just survive.

Today Michael talks with Lisa Hamilton, a great chronicler of uncommon agrarians, and the author of the new book, The Hungry Season. Agrarians are those who live from working in agriculture. With only 2.2 million agrarians are less than 1% of the US population. These few feed our nation and much of the world. An even smaller percentage of those few farm or ranch outside the mainstream, the conventional commodity system.

Nutritionist and leader of the Dairy Council of California, Amy DeLisio, and 6th generation organic dairy farmer from Humboldt County, Cody Nicholson Stratton, dialogue with Michael around the opportunities and challenges related to nutrition and the environment faced by California’s gargantuan dairy industry.

If you are hearing the news lately you know the campuses, now educating Gen Z, are rocked by angry students on both sides of the war in Israel. This is an energized group and may indicate a sea change in the level and type of activism in the country in the years ahead. In this episode we’ll learn from three members of “Gen Z” if they believe the passions of their generation could also be felt intensely in efforts to change our food and farming system.

Tim Johnson CEO of California Rice Commission shares how rice growers are modeling the future of agriculture by delivering a fabulous array of ecosystem services, wealth creation and delicious, healthy food for California and the world.

Alegria De La Cruz has a history of creating spaces and moments for farmworkers and other historically marginalized brown and black people to fairly and wisely engage the powers that be: employers, judges and policy makers.

As 30-year-old Native American rancher, mother and nonprofit leader, Kelsey Ducheneaux-Scott reflects the power of the millennial generation born between 1981 and 1996. Indigenous knowledge, the future of food and her role in the film Common Ground are deeply explored in this episode.

A 5th generation commodity crop farmer from Indiana, the Heartland of America, Rick Clark had an awakening during a one-inch rain event in 2007 that washed topsoil from his fields. That moment spawned a ten-year journey during which Rick created rich healthy soil that captures carbon and holds water, diversified his crops and increased his profits. This success placed him at the center of the film Common Ground. As the film says, Rick “cracked the code” of large-scale regenerative farming.

Farm boy and entrepreneur Jim Kleinschmit started a company called Other Half Processing to ensure that the hides and other byproducts from cattle and bison production are fully utilized. When USDA began its funding campaign to promote regenerative agriculture, he hatched an idea that has bloomed into a $35 million project to build lucrative markets in Europe and beyond for hides and more livestock byproducts.

After decades of economic decline around the Harris family’s farm, Will experienced an epiphany that led to a journey to what we now call regenerative agriculture. His story is about a pioneer’s perseverance, love for animals, the land and a community. His example could transform rural America.

Josh and Rebecca Tickell produced and directed the newly released film, Common Ground. It is a compelling look at the expanding acceptance of regenerative agriculture as an antidote to many of the challenges faced by farmers, ranchers, consumers and policy makers. Josh and Rebecca share about why they included a powerful diversity of voices and perspectives to compelling convey their hopes for regenerative agriculture. They describe it as a love letter to all our children as well as a call to the nation’s farmers to embrace regenerative agriculture as the future.

Hear how Loren Poncia, a former Monsanto sales rep, became a model regenerative rancher. He and his wife faced the omnivore’s dilemma to transform the family dairy into a multimillion dollar iconic grassfed organic meat brand.

For the 100th Episode of Flipping the Table, Michael shares his perception of the advances being made by those seeking a healthier, resilient and just food system. He makes the case for remaining optimistic about our future.

Grassfed, grass finished, pasture raised are all terms you see on meat and dairy packages these days. But what do they actually mean? Can they be trusted? Michael dives into this question with Carrie Balkcom the executive director of the American Grassfed Association. AGA is the nation’s singular independent certification program that confirms livestock are fed only their natural diet for their entire lives.

Spencer Smith is a self-described soil nerd who has raised livestock his whole life. He believes California is a great place to produce grass-fed beef. His goal as a consultant is to help livestock producers optimize the health of their land in order to ecologically, humanely and profitably manage businesses that deliver healthy food for humans.

Since 2016, California has provided $30 million in matching funds to attract nearly the same amount from the USDA in order to provide SNAP families with matching dollars to support their purchase of healthy fresh and organic produce. Minni Forman, Valeria Velazques Duenas and Shawn Harrison, who manage nutrition incentive programs in their communities, share their work and the impact of both CNIP and the Market Match promotion of incentives offered at over 200 farmers markets and farms stands in California.

In the national effort to reanimate local and regional meat supply chains serving primarily organic and regenerative ranchers, the key is a what is known as a “cut and wrap facility.” These are where animal carcasses are skillfully cut into steaks, chops and roasts and ground into burger and hot dogs sought by shoppers, restaurants and cafeteria food providers. Cream Co, founded by Cliff Pollard, fills this vital niche on the nation’s west coast.

California has declared that species diversity is a major environmental goal. After 150 years of intensive agriculture, achieving that goal is a challenge. But there is a great example underway on the Sacramento River where endangered salmon are being saved by proactive rice farmers. The Nigiri Project reveals an approach that has implications for crop and livestock operations across the state and the nation.

We need more farmers and many of them must be women, Black, Indigenous and other people of color in order to sustain the nation’s food abundance and heal the wounds of the nation’s persistent racism. After a 35-year farming career, Leonard Diggs, a Black farmer from California’s Great Central Valley, is fully engaged in supporting the emergence of that healing generation of new farmers.

Food justice and climate change demand an end to good waste. Food Forward in Los Angeles is the most impressive food recovery program we’ve ever seen. Founder Rick Nahmias shares the story of how he and his team have delivered over 1 billion servings of food to 150,000 people per day.

Flipping the Table is a production of Roots of Change, a program of the Public Health Institute. Roots of Change has been a major catalyst in the growth and power-building of the good food movement. It was launched in 2002 and this episode features a conversation with 4 individuals who have been deeply involved in its founding and evolution and offer perspectives on what has worked and what has not.

After talking about the day’s farm tour on the Oxnard plain of Ventura County to educate CalPolySLO engineering students working to keep drinking water cool for farmer workers in hot fields, Maureen and Michael explore how to solve the many complex challenges faced by farmers in a time of intense political polarization, climate change and escalating prices.

You have probably heard how challenging it is to keep a farm or ranch alive in today’s industrial food system. Low prices, high barriers to market entry and climate impacts are killing off the family ranches that are the primary sources of meat. Big corporations are capturing the vast majority of the wealth and impoverishing rural communities. Hear about one attempt to turn the tide in one of the most rural regions of California, which is home to many good people and beautiful ranches seeking more direct relationship to urban eaters.

Perhaps no one has spoken so clearly about the problem of capitalism and its impact on our food system as Woody Tasch. He is the founder of the Slow Money Institute and the movement it supports. Hear about his latest written statement, A Call to Farms and the Beet Coin initiative launching on September 11, 2022.

Resilience requires access to local food. One model of how to sustain and promote local farms is Sonoma County Farm Trails. Launched in 1973, it is the nation’s first community-based organization with such a mission. Carmen Snyder, executive director, shares its story and about its upcoming event: the Gravenstein Apple Fair.

Craig shares his dramatic life journey from the JFK White House to a farm near UC Davis, the challenge of loving a complex father and how his farm brought healing inside and with the Vietnamese people.

The healing power of food has long been recognized by indigenous cultures and through much of human history. Yet only recently has modern western medicine begun to return to food as healing agent. Diet related disease and other factors ignited this change. Dr. Steven Chen from Alameda County's health system describes how produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals are moving front and center in the effort to heal our communities and create health equity.

Guido Frosini and Sarah Silva, members of the Bay Area Ranchers Cooperative, tell us what production and processing challenges they face and how they are solving these challenges even amidst global warming. 

Community food projects and much more would be funded if we can place the Health Equity and Social Justice Fund in the California Budget. Mar Velez, Rod Lew and Ron Coleman, three veteran policy campaigners leading the charge, describe the fund, its uses and how we plan to win the Governor’s support.

Pandemic, heat waves, fires and storms demand robust public health infrastructure that includes networks of well resourced community based organizations (CBOs). The Let’s Feed LA County program that included 19 local organizations, Roots of Change, Center for Wellness and Nutrition and Wholesome Wave makes clear the need to permanently invest in CBOs on the frontline so they are ready when things get tough.

Michael talks with John Krist, retired CEO of Ventura County Farm Bureau, about the need and challenge of protecting farmworkers.

A conversation with Maricela about the Achieving Resilient Communities project and her work with Central Coast Alliance for Sustainable Economy. Maricela is a social justice warrior and the project is a core initiative of Roots of Change and its partners at the Public Health Institute.

CA movement leaders describe the $3.3 billion Resilient Food and Farm bond and budget request.

One of Dan’s most challenging and interesting interviews with the renown animal welfare advocate and gifted autistic. Dr. Grandin has transformed livestock handling.

Michael and Tom discuss California’s immense water problems and potential solutions. S3 E1 sets the stage for a great season of how CA is solving 21st century food system challenges.

Naima shares her path, her poetry and vision for a food system and society that is healed, just and regenerative. An inspiring end to Season II!

Dan Imhoff dialogues with Eliot Coleman, Maine’s Four Season Farm founder, author and organic farming pioneer. Eliot shares what plants want, what growers around the world can teach, and how small farms can make money.

Author, educator, recovering Buddhist and model for a life well lived, Deborah shares her stores of a culinary and farm-centered cook’s life, all from her memoir An Onion In My Pocket.

Writer and activist Dan Imhoff speaks with farmer, poet and seminal writer Wendell Berry about the “oversimplification” of agriculture and all the resulting challenges.

Celebrity chef & farmer Duskie Estes, rancher Kathy Webster and farmer Sarah Silva launched the Bay Area Ranchers Cooperative (BAR C) to support local livestock producers providing safe, healthy meat to a growing market.

Writer, farmer, activist Dan Imhoff wets our appetite for six conversations he recorded with the pioneers of regenerative and organic agriculture in the early 2000s. The Imhoff Archives will run once per month over the next 6 months.

The new leader of the nation’s largest and most impactful food policy council shares her lived experience and vision for LA’s food future.

The future of a healthy and regenerative meat source is visible by looking at Morris Grassfed. A 30-journey to build a network of mutually beneficial relationships that are good for people, animals and the planet!

Native peoples are rebirthing their food traditions to heal the impacts of the modern American diet and political and economic oppression.  Sanjay’s new film captures three inspiring stories of reclaimed food sovereignty.

The soil is a powerful tool for combatting climate change. Through her nonprofit, Soil Centric, Donlon builds support and pathways for everyone to join the campaign to build soil and capture carbon to create a healthier future.

The leader of the Center for Ecolitercy provides a picture of their work to transform school meals and how they’ve adapted in the time of COVID.

We unpack the role of white fragility, its relationship to shame, numbness and rage and ways to “keep ourselves on the hook” as participants in the healing of the nation’s deepest wound.